Sunday, May 31, 2015


Well only one more week! I am not where I want to be but I am proud of the motivation I have had to exercise and keep myself more healthy. It might not show on the scale but I feel better inside. Good luck everyone!!

9 minutes to Spare!

My little family and I had a crazy busy weekend, mostly due to a good friend's wedding and the surrounding festivities. We all danced our booties off last night and after totally killing it on the dance floor, I had to just stop and thank myself for all the hard work I've been doing. I felt great in a less than modest dress, I danced and had energy all night, and best of alli had total confidence sans liquid courage- totally a breakthrough for me when it comes to boogying down! I'm just not comfortable drinking around my girls and did not want to drink my calories (don't ask about my calorie goals for the weekend though!) okay, 5 minutes to midnight, I better hit submit on this bad boy! Hope everyone had a fab week!

Biking

Biking = My favorite Exercise
Biking = Burning lots of calories
Biking = Bigger leg muscles!!!
What!!  When I bike a lot (three times a week) my thighs grow in muscles which = increased inches. Hopefully I decrease other places.

Only a few days left?!

It's hard to believe we are almost done! This last week will the the hardest! 3 group challenges!!! Thanks for stepping it up, Steph! I am excited to stretch myself this week!
I hope everyone one has a fantastic finish!!!!!

Read the fine print...

This weeks challenge was a good reminder to focus on the needless calories, carbs and sugars that are so easy to drink without thinking about it. I m pretty sure most of us get plenty of sugars in our diet. It is impressive what some of these drinks have in them. Below are labels from a strawberry drink and  a label from apple juice.


Saturday, May 30, 2015

Travel Conference and Food

Hard to loose weight in Travel Status!!

The conference provided all the meals and cookies and pastries - lovely!

I walked on break - I walked at lunch - I walked in the evening -

It was tough to even break even -

the 8 weeks have gone pretty fast - I enjoyed the 50 min exercise and 5 days of exercise -
I think I can continue with both through the summer!

F Jeff

Friday, May 29, 2015

1 more week

We'll with one week left I am not quite where I want to be but I am closer than when I started!!! I love this challenge it has been such a great motivation for me:)

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Week 6 Prize Winner and Results

Week 6 was a good week for everyone!  Several of you got perfect scores.  Way to go!

1.  Ashley       564
1.  Jeff            564
1.  James        564
2.  Jenni         563
3.  Steve         561
4.  Stephanie  551
5.  Megan       542
6.  Carrie        538
7.  Jessica       526


So in the past challenges we have had movie passes up for grabs...and both times the Batty family has cleaned up...Steve and Ashley each winning one!  Will it be a three-peat?!



Maintenance

So the last few weeks I haven't been doing so well...a few trips out of town, the excitement and stress of buying our first house, trying to get the house ready for a move...you know, life.  Not to mention, it's ice cream season...dang half price shake commercials (I haven't give in yet).

I am learning what it takes to maintain my weight loss.  Pretty much working out hard and making moderate choices will keep me right where I am.  Unfortunately, that's not my plan.  Losing weight takes a lot of mental focus, and spinach greens.  Although I am not giving it my full mental attention at the moment, I'm glad that this challenge is helping me maintain, and not slide backwards (or rather upwards).
Here's to pushing it hard these last few days and ending this challenge on a LOWer number than today's!  

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Ok, so I totally spaced blogging last week and I am so mad that I lost those points. And because I forgot I didn't get a chance to share a healthy recipe. Well this isn't really a recipe but it has helped me the last few weeks .  Every afternoon (when I crave sugar the most) I have been filling up my water bottle with water and then squeezing half a lemon into it  and putting a little stevia (a natural sweetener) into it . I drink that all afternoon and it kills my sweet tooth!

Better Sore Than Sorry!

Ha ha! I loved that line!  Great working out goals this week!  I love being pushed, even when I fail! Thanks again for putting this together Steph!  
I hope everyone had a great workout week!!!

Saturday, May 23, 2015

Free at last

May be that is what I should have blogged last week..  Then F Jeff might not have been so confused!  I am confused that my sister went to moon shine arch and didn't invite me.  I will invite her on my hour long canal bike ride then next time I go it was amazing... fun... and burned 850 calories according to the fitness tracker.

Here's to no Diet Dr. Pepper, next week.. Okay I only drink it about once a week... Unless I have to randomly drive to Duchesne. (Small town an hour away!) I had my first/last lunch at Cowan's café.  I am sure the calories at that place replaced my bike ride.. and they weren't very good!

Week 5 Results and Prize Winner

Hello Everyone!  Hope this week of a little extra exercise is treating you all well.  I apologize this is posted so late this week, I have been out of town a few days.  Here are the results after Week 5.

1.  Ashley       470
1.  James         470
1.  Jeff            470
2.  Jenni         469
3.  Steve         467
4.  Stephanie   460
5.  Katie         459
6.  Carrie        451
7.  Megan       448
8.  Jessica        432

And here is the winner of the $5 Subway gift card.


Stress

Some people lose weight when they are stressed, I gain.

This week consisted in traveling to Pueblo and putting an offer on our first home!
A fun girls trip to Estes Park.
A child finishing school and all that goes with that.
Another child's birthday.
A landlord cleaning inspection.
And the rest of life.

All I can say is good thing I got those extra workouts in to maybe combat a little of this stress.

Moonshine!

The last couple of weeks since we have been in vernal and they have no racquet ball courts we have been having to get creative with our exercises. Good thing vernal is surrounded by amazing things to do outside, like hiking moonshine arch!

Easy peasy

Getting in our exercise this week has been easy with all the projects our families have for us to do. I have been climbing trees to knock down nests, hiking with Ashley and working on our family farm. Man it's nice to be back in vernal for the summer.

Friday, May 22, 2015

5 Minute Sweat Angels!

It never ceases to amaze me how fast I get floored (literally) doing some workouts. Today was the 5th day in a row working out, and I sure can feel the residual fatigue setting in. After warming up, the below picture was the result of a 5 minute burst for the first part of today's workout! 5 minutes!!!! I should have known better when the name of the workout was "Fight Gone Bad!" 



60 minutes of exercise works up an appetite

Trivia:

Name the 2 items that I did not eat this week?

Rootbeer Float
Spinach
Apple Pie
Ice Cream Sunday with Rasberries
New Oreo Smores Cookies
Sees Candy
Oatmeal
Burrito Special at Chapala's

Wow that extra 10 minutes of exercise really made me feel like I was starving!!!

2 weeks to go and then I can have a Milk Shake at Moon's Kitchen!!! Tall metal mixing cups that hold the extra shake that will not fit in the tall glass.
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But I will keep up the good self control until then!!!

Last week when Jenny blogged the word resigned - I though she had done something serious like dropping out of the Challenge - I found out later that she had only quit her job??

F Jeff

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Raw Meals = Raw Deal

In a perfect world, I envision myself living in a hut, surviving off of the land's resources, and let's just add that my hair is longer everywhere. In my real world,, that's just not my bag. I like cheese. And i like olive oil. I'm not sure I even know the rules of raw eating, but I'm going to assume I didn't follow any of them with my personal challenge. However! I have a delicious "recipe" that was totally Pinterest inspired that I adapted to be even healthier than the original!

Here is the link to that recipe: /YUM!

My adaptation that can be translated to a lot of pasta/rice dishes is that I buy some broccoli slaw and boil it, I'm not sure how long, and the texture is up to you! Then, I sauté it with the kale and seasonings (garlic is a must!) and if I have some other veggies lying around I throw those in as well- peppers especially! Then I add some parm (not a ton) and it's good to go. It also reheats fabulously for lunch the next day.

Toodles!

Woo wee!

This week has been a roller coaster of stuff! First, I was so excited about this challenge...BUT I couldn't keep it in my head. So, out went the snacking. I did try to remember it the rest of the week...but then I got sick. Then I decided to throw a Bday party. Then we had graduation parties to go to. Then we had a potluck at church. The end. Ha ha! Maybe I will put post it notes around my house to help me remember what is am doing!!!!

Healthy (and Fast) Dinner

One of our favorite dinners that is both healthy and fast is burrito bowls. 

Step 1:  Make Rice... I used to like brown rice but like this kind even better.

Step 2:  Add rotisserie chicken
Step 3:  Add toppings...  Tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, black or pinto beans, salsa, and fat free sour cream.  
Voila healthy dinner that even my kids devour.   

My Stache...

Let me tell ya'll about "my stache". My wonderful sister in-law made me a little snack jar that that is well renown amongst my co-workers. It is always filled with the staples: gummy sweetarts and fun-sized candy bars. After learning of last this weeks challenge, the gummies had to vacate their home in the Stache. Day after day I had to break it to my co-workers that the Stache was empty! What a trial! This week, when I needed an afternoon snack, I reached for a pack of extra hot cinnamon gum (sugar free, of course). The best part is that I don't even really like cinnamon gum! Something in that artificial flavoring induces a singeing on my tastes buds and I no longer need a snack. So when the day comes that your Stache dries up, reach for the cinamon gum.

7 days without Chocolate makes one weak

Touch little challenge!

I had dinner at a friends home - they served a salad which was composed of :
Cucumbers, tomatoes and onions - sliced and diced and tossed in a light oil
different but good and low calorie.

F Jeff

Saturday, May 16, 2015

Popcorn

One of our favorite healthy snacks is popcorn, we oil pop it and only add seasoning salt no butter so it's low in calories and a great after dinner snack.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Onward and Upward....I mean Downward on the scale.

So onward and upward... I resigned this week!!!  No kindergarten next year....
I am hoping that less stress will equal downward on the scales!!

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Snack Post

I usually love this healthy snack challenge.  Each time I've done it I've managed to lose a little weight and feel great.  This week I kind of blew it though.  Remember last week when I was mad at the scale, well that little weigh-in made me feel like I needed something drastic this week...so on top of the healthy snack challenge, for my personal goal I decided to replace breakfast and lunch each day with a protein shake.


I NEED CARBS!!!  I think I'm in sugar withdrawals as well.  I can now say firmly I don't condone the Slimfast diet.  Food is just too good.

Guess there really are no shortcuts!


Here's my healthy snack idea for the week.  I love mashed avocado on toast with a little sea salt sprinkled on top.  It's so good!  Since I'm not having toast this week, I tried my mashed avocado with a pinch of sea salt spread on a celery stick (like ants on a log but without peanut butter and chocolate chips...oh chocolate!)

Now back to chewing on my sugar free gum to get me through til bedtime.  The green sour patch kind almost tastes like a little treat!  Almost.  


Week 4 Results and Prize Winner

So you all thrived (or at least survived) the good ol' shake challenge last week.  Here is how the week played out:

1.  Ashley       376
1.  Jenni          376
1.  James         376
1.  Jeff            376
2.  Katie         375
3.  Steve         373
4.  Carrie        369
5.  Stephanie  367
6.  Megan       366
7.  Artesia       349
7.  Jessica        349

And now for our prize winner.  Just a small disclaimer here, I've been making these prize videos now pretty much weekly since October....so I'm feeling like my creative well has run dry.  Sorry in advance.


Monday, May 11, 2015

Strawberry Banana Protein Shake

So because of our last challenge I thought I would post our favorite protein shake.

Super easy

1c water
1c non sweetened almond milk (can use regular milk but almond milk is only 30 calories a cup!)
1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
1 frozen banana
1-2c frozen strawberries

It really is delicious we love it so much we are having them for breakfast this week too!

Sunday, May 10, 2015

Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day everyone!
I might have gone a little overboard....a little too much strawberry pie!  I am so glad we have a new week to try again!
I did enjoy this weeks challenge.  I am nursing, so I had to modify it a little...but I totally love shakes! I usually have a fruit/vege shake in the morning for breakfast.  It felt good adding some protein in there to help boost it up! I might keep that going!
Hope everyone is getting some good results out there! I'm hoping to jump on that bandwagon at some point! Ha ha!
Have a great week!

Only 10 grams???

Never has 10 grams of protein tasted so nasty! I will admit that the "grab-n-go" nature of the breakfast protein shake was convenient. I made it into the stream of morning commute traffic, just outside of the neighborhood before uncorking 10 grams of protein disguised as a chocolate shake..."ughhh, ewe, S.O.B!!!!" "How can that be so bad",  I thought to myself. Of-course, it must be because I didn't shake it up. After  a vigorous shaking that even Taylor Swift would be proud of. I sink my teeth into a second gulp. All the shaking did was transform a choco-shake from low-pulp to country-style. Nasty. I downed 6 of the 12 ounces and decided that I was sufficiently full. In that moment I felt much like Ron Burgundy. Needless to say I made homemade, fruit-based protein shakes the rest of the week.

I hear ya Steph. I lose one, I gain one....over and over again. Losing weight used to be a lot easier for me. I am about 8 pounds more than what I was before I got pregnant with my last baby. And my body seems pretty happy with that new weight. So I am trying to focus on just being healthy. I am exercising about an hour 6 days a week and I also eat pretty dang good!

So there's that...

Turns out I have the health problems of a middle aged man. With blood clots and the diabetes, my last pregnancy was tough. Being 2 months postpartum I have been cleared from the gestational diabetes diagnosis but the blood thinners are here to stay. For that reason I skipped this week's group challenge. Instead focusing on eating a high protein meal. While it takes more prep time it is worth the effort. Eggs, cottage cheese, chicken, and nuts have been my friend this week! 

No thank you !

I've recently come up with a new catch phrase for when I really don't want to do something. And I'm going to share it with everyone, but let me set the scene. Someone is shaking a blender ball cup and says "Hey! I made you breakfast! It's an 'Amazing Meals-Amazing Greens' meal replacement shake! Do you want it?" And my response will be (brace yourselves for the catchphrase): "No thank you! I'd rather rub a CHEESE GRATER all over my face!"

Yeah, so there's that. I really like Spirutein brand shakes, and Artesia gave me some Body by Vi powder, which I mixed with chocolate PB2 and it was amazing! Those two brands got me through the group challenge this week. However,, that Amazing Meals brand? YUCK! It tasted like artificially sweetened fish food.

My personal challenge this week was to walk 12K steps a day and I did it! Everyday but Thursday. Even today on Mother's Day where I took a fabulous nap, I squeaked right in! I am going to continue this trend next week and my personal goal for the upcoming week is to eat one raw meal a day. Yikes! Recipes are welcome!

Saturday, May 9, 2015

The Challenge is a little like Spear Fishing!

When you are 80 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico with your trusty spear gun - you might spot a Grouper under a ledge at the edge of your sight distance - if you go straight at him he will break cover and flee!  But if you do not make eye contact and act like you are just swimming by he remains calm - just as you are going past you turn, aim and fire in about the same motion.  Losing weight is the tam way- never look a diet in the eye!  Your body gets nervous and thinks you are putting it in shock and it holds onto the fat to prepare for lean times ahead.  Instead you kinda swim by like you don't even know what a challenge is - a McDonalds Ice Cream Cone does not say diet and your body thinks it is getting the good stuff but the cone is only 170 calories.  A bite of chocolate here and there (except for next week) tells the body there are fat times ahead and it lets go of the pounds easier.  So relax live a little (key word little) and lose some weight!  But never look it in the eye!

F Jeff

Friday, May 8, 2015

Just fishing

Went fishing did some walking didn't catch squat...it was perfect!

Teacher appreciation

So this week is teacher appreciation and logan Utah sure knows how to show it!! We have eaten out for free or nearly free several times this week....not great for dieting....so while we have a done great with the protein shakes I am afraid it won't show much on the scale this week:(

Dang Scale

Since last October when I started actively trying to lose weight I've last 30-35 pounds...and I'm extremely happy with that, but I'm not done.  I have 10 more pounds to drop to be at a "healthy BMI."  And I feel like I've been fighting with the same 5 pounds the last several weeks, I'll lose 2, then gain back 2, lose 2 more, then gain back 2 more.  It's frustrating!  I've been working out hard and keeping my calories under 1400/day.
Grrrr...so even though the scale made me mad this morning,  I'm trying to keep a good perspective.  Today my little 4 year old had to go in for an ECG, we got to see pictures of his heart.  It made me think about my own heart, I wondered how healthy my heart would look.  I hope that all this cardio I'm doing is helping inside, even if it's not showing on the scale.  Health is the name of this game, and should be my main focus.

And for a non-health related non-scale victory this week, last night I tried on a few shirts at Kohls and the size Larges were too big.  Medium baby!  Boo-yah!  

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Week 3 Results

Here are the Week 3 results!  Congratulations everyone!  Hope you are all enjoying those delicious protein shakes this week!  Keep it up to be eligible for the $10 Target gift card!

1.  Ashley        282
1.  James         282
1.  Jeff             282
1.  Jenni          282
2.  Katie          281
3.  Steve          279
3.  Megan        279
4.  Carrie         277
5.  Stephanie    275
6.  Artesia        260
7.  Jessica         257



May for our family is full of party's and food. We have Mother's day and three birthdays. Its good for me to be in this challenge now. I plan to keep the cake intake minimal. But I do love food. 
                                            quoteImage
                                                  Totally agree Julia! 

Monday, May 4, 2015

Super Hero

So it's teacher appreciation week this week.  I found a cute quote that says "I teach what's your super power!"

Well I am not real good about thank you notes so this blog is becoming one!!  "I DRIVE!!! That is Jeff Petersons super Power for the week!!  What a HERO you are to drive Uncle Randel for a week! You are my HERO and I am sure aunt Lori's too!

Here's to Shak'in it up for a week. Hope everybody enjoys this challenge!  I am excited.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

This is Sparta!!!

So for the week 3 challenge I jumped into a training class for the Spartan race (similar to the dirty dash). I don't know how my new javelin throwing, rope climbing and atlas stone lifting skills will benefit me later in life, but it was a fun way to switch it up this week.  

Ok, this week was an awesome exercise week for me.  But not so much an awesome eating week. I didn't make the best choices!! And if anything I've learned about weight loss for myself it's mostly the food I consume and not as much the exercise.  I can exercise a ton, but if I am not eating healthy then I won't lose anything.  So I am committing myself to a healthier eating week next week!

How fun!

This was actually a fun challenge! I decided to turn my exercise into building our first garden! And we also built a firepit!! It was a great workout and so rewarding to see it done! But on the other side....I made puppy chow/muddy buddies. The scale and I will not be friends tomorrow, but at least my muscles are reminding me what a great workout week it was! ;)
Hope everyone is having a great challenge! Warm weather is here!

Mix it up up up up... I'm on fire!

I was really excited to see that the group challenge this week was to mix up our workout routines, mostly because it's an easy challenge for me because I already do that, but also because I'm anxious for new ideas! This week I did Zumba, a Pound class, yoga, Pilates, a ton of walking, gardening (hey, when you carry 50lb bags across the back yard- that's a work out!) and.... Wait for it... Hip Hop Abs! The second part of the challenge was to try something new, and I've been doing yoga. I posted a picture of a downward dog on my Instagram as part of an IG yoga challenge. While it isn't the most flattering photo ever, it will be exciting to use later as part of a before/after shot... I hope!

Today was a busy day for us, too! It was my eldest daughter's first ballet recital! As such, I must post a braggy mommy picture. She did fabulous on the stage and I could not be more proud of this tiny dancer!

yoga

I did a bit of yoga this week for my try something new. Can't say I loved it. But maybe it will grow on me.

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Finals

Finals are over and I'm a free man, hopefully I can now dedicate myself to losing some weight!

Bollywood Bootcamp

In an attempt to shake it up this week with my exercise routine I decided to try a class called Bollywood bootcamp. This to me means fun dancing and mostly aerobic exercise.. Wrong! That is the fun warm up, the remaining class consisted of sprints, planks, and squats. Oh the squats!!! 

Piyo

This week I decided to try piyo for my exercise. I just found a video on YouTube and I love it...it's killer but easy to follow and it's fun!!

Friday, May 1, 2015

Week 2 Results and Prize Winner

So sorry that I'm getting these results posted so late in the week...but here they are!

Week 2 Results:

1.  Steve          188
1.  Ashley        188
1.  Katie          188
1.  Jeff             188
1.  James         188
1.  Jenni           188
1.  Megan        188
2.  Carrie         185
3.  Stephanie   184
4.  Artesia       171
5.  Jessica        163

And here is our Week 2 prize winner!



Keep up the good work everyone!

Garrett's Popcorn

My husband was in Chicago last week, and I kindly hinted that he better bring me back some famous Garrett's popcorn (I mean, Oprah endorsed it...you know it's good)!!

So he did.  He brought me the BIG bag!
And it was GOOD!!!

I found myself skipping breakfast or lunch so I could afford the calories of another bowl of this buttery goodness.  Well, I've learned this week that even if I stay in my calories, but the calories are unhealthy calories...I won't lose weight.  So here's to next week of more salads, less Garrett's.

Travel to the next Half Cone

This week I have been on the road - staying with family - everyone is glad I am here so they bake really good cookies and really good bread and you have to be polite - tough to lose weight on the road.  So I came up with and idea - next time the person in the car says "lets stop up here for some Ice Cream" just order the small cone (upgrade to the Brown Topper if you like) and eat slow!  The Brown Topper will start to melt the Ice Cream - It will start to make a mess in the car and you will have the excuse you need to pitch the entire cone and only give up 100 to 150 calories by eating 1/3 of the dripping monster!!!!   "Mommy - what is that on the road?" "Oh - I think some fool is back in that challenge thing and the result is not good for the environment!!"


F Jeff